✵

Ringo rambled on, her speech increasingly slurred. This particular debate had been going for the last ten minutes, with the blonde arguing that Han was better 'boyfriend material', despite the fact Steve had never spoke against it.

They had left the party fifteen minutes ago, and with Steve himself intoxicated and Ringo annihilated - driving home was out of the question.

She had her arm wound around his by the elbows, clutching it tightly for support as she walked along the pavement unsteadily.

"Ringo, you do know I've never even seen Star Wars?" He sighed, repeating himself for the third time.

"What the hell?" She gasped, just like she did the other times. "That's positively ludicrous. What, are you too busy sucking face with Nancy to watch a good movie?"

"First of all," he began, raising an eyebrow challengingly, "the movie was out before Nancy and I started dating. Second of all, don't be so bitter!" He ended in a sing-song voice to show he was joking.

"I'm not bitter!" She protested, ripping her arm from his to walk along by herself. "I love Nancy, okay! I even gave her my Brady Bunch lunch box in second grade because she didn't have one!"

Ringo stopped in her step, a wide smirk on her face full of mischief and amusement. Steve stopped upon noticing she wasn't following, turning to see what the problem was, but the blonde simply booped him on the nose with her finger and giggled.

"And now I'm giving her you," she sang, her tone and expression contradicting the rather sad statement. Steve's face fell instantly, mouth adjacent and lips moving as he tried to formulate words. But words couldn't come, as his brain wasn't even able to form thoughts.

"Ringo, I-" he began, the words he wasn't even sure of cut off by the image of the girl tipping sideways and falling straight into a shrub in someone's garden.

He wasn't sure initially whether to bark a laugh or jump to help her, instead, he settled for both. Hauling her to her feet while his booming laughter echoed down the empty street.

"Ow," she moaned tiredly, grappling for his hands as he dragged her upwards, leaves trapped in her now messy hair.

"You're a mess, Ringo," he commented, plucking stray leaves from her hair. Her left arm was red from scratches, but she didn't look too affected.

For the rest of the walk to her apartment, they stayed silent, with Ringo's arm wrapped around his again.

✵

"Ringo!" Julia Wheeler hissed when she opened the door, clad only in her pyjamas and a robe. She gave her daughter a disappointed once-over, an undeniable twitch of worry in her brows upon noticing the intoxicated state she was in.

Her eyes followed up from her nearly-unconscious daughter to Steve, who was smiling awkwardly beside her.

"I suppose you came here with her thinking you were gonna get some," she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Well not my daughter, hot rod. Not on my watch."

"O-oh! No, Mrs Wheeler!" He shook his head, face immediately reddening. "I'm Steve! Her friend! I would never- what? Not that there's anything wrong with her! I just, personally, would never!"

Her eyebrow raised as she watched him ramble and rave, until he finally stopped and sheepishly admitted, "I'm Nancy's boyfriend."

"Okay, Nancy's boyfriend," Julia smiled in amusement, stepping forward and wrapping her arm around Ringo's waist for support, grunting when almost all of her body weight was placed on her. "Thanks for taking her home."

As Steve rushed downstairs, red-faced and embarrassed, Julia led her daughter down to her bed once again.

"This has got to stop, Ringo," she muttered to her. "This is the last time."

✵

"Can I get a strawberry milkshake please?" Ringo's grumbling voice asked, the hoarseness entertaining the trio sat in her booth at Brainshakes. The waitress gave her a look, probably wondering about the black sunglasses she was wearing inside.

"Late night, Ringo?" Jessica smirked, leaning back and crossing her arms.

"I wouldn't call it a late night," Nancy added in a smart tone, "she left before Jonathan and I did."

Jessica, Jonathan, Ringo and Nancy had agreed to meet up at Brainshakes the day after the party for lunch - or in Ringo's state, her 'hangover cure'. As neither Jonathan nor Nancy had drank, and Jessica hadn't even attended the night before, the blonde was left to suffer alone.

"You'd think she'd have worked off all that alcohol doing the Safety Dance," Jonathan joked, causing Ringo to glare at him across the table next to Nancy. Although her eyes were shaded by the dark sunglasses.

"She did the Safety Dance?" Jessica squealed in laughter almost hysterically, her hand clapping over her mouth to muffle the guffaws.

"I'm moving back to Florida," she threatened, whipping off her sunglasses as the tall glass of milkshake finally arrived, revealing the dark circles underneath her eyes.

"Oh come on," Nancy smiled as she slid her pancake stack towards her, "it could have been worse. After you left, Pamela Jenkins stripped down to her underwear."

Ringo's shame was redirected away from her, thankfully, at the sound of the bell above the door dinging. Instantly, the entirety of the diner's customers lifted their heads nosily to spot the new entrant, looking back down before doing a swift double take.

Ringo's eyes narrowed at the sight of the man who she immediately recognised as the one who overtook her driving the day before, his ridiculous mullet and unfortunately handsome face easily recognisable. He was clad in a leather jacket and jeans, chewing on a piece of gum cockily. Everything about him screamed cliché, and made Ringo particularly uncomfortable.

When his eyes landed on the table with their group, he smirked cheekily and started to trudge towards it, causing Ringo to dart her gaze away and huff quietly. Already, she was uninterested.

"Hello ladies," he greeted, his tone unsurprisingly sultry. "Oh, you're a dude! It's hard to tell from behind." He acted surprised as he laid eyes on Jonathan, after eying up the three girls with a glint in his eye.

"Can we help you?" Nancy spoke defensively, raising an eyebrow as he rested his palm on their table.

"I don't know, can you?" He retorted, licking his lower lip. "I'm having a party at my house on Saturday before my parents move up. There'll be no furniture or anything, but there'll be beer. And hopefully sexy chicks like yourselves."

"Not interested, Michael Myers," Jessica grumbled, shoving a fry around her plate frustratedly. His attention immediately shifted to her.

"Oh come on, you and I could have a lot of fun," he raised his eyebrows suggestively, causing Jessica to form a lazy smirk of her own. She shuffled over in her seat and suddenly wrapped her arm around Ringo's shoulders.

"What can I say?" She shrugged, nodding her head towards Ringo. "You're not my type."

While Nancy and Jonathan's jaws had dropped far enough to catch flies, Ringo simply smirked and raised her brows at him.

Billy didn't seem deterred however, licking his lower lip as if this had posed a challenge, only serving to further infuriate the girl.

"Why don't you run along and find another pole to piss on?" Ringo smiled sweetly, sensing her friends distress and standing up for her.

"If it's doggy business you want, blondie," he shrugged, dropping his eye in a wink and heading towards the counter to order, receiving four glares in his absence.

"So," Nancy began, looking entirely awkward as she fumbled over her speech, eyes following as Jessica removed her arm from Ringo. "Are you two, like, together?"

"No," they answered simultaneously, appearing confused by the question.

"She's too pale for me," Jessica teased, nudging her with her elbow.

"Uh!" Ringo scoffed, fighting back a grin of amusement. "Racist, much?"

"Oh you wanna talk racism to me?" Jessica challenged, crossing her arms over her chest as they dissolved into giggles. Their banter confused the two across the table, who stared in confusion.

"So," Nancy continued when the question she so obviously wanted the answer to wasn't addressed, "you're not with Ringo but you want to be with girls?"

"Nancy!" Jonathan hissed at her bluntness, but Jessica wasn't phased.

"I'm a lesbian, Wheeler," Jessica nodded, "it's pretty obvious. I mean - dude, please. I'm so gay my nickname in freshman year was 'Jessbian'".

"It suits you," Ringo poked her arm with a cheeky smile.

"Did you know?" Jonathan asked her.

"Nah, I don't care enough to ask people who they like," Ringo shrugged, reaching for another fry from their shared bowl.

"Speaking of people they like," Jessica whispered to her slyly, the blonde's expression twisting in confusion as she looked up at the sound of the bell, again.

Steve's eyes searched the room, breathing in relief - or panic, when he saw Ringo. More specifically, the person sitting across from Ringo.

"Hey, guys," he waved after wading his way towards them, nodding his head to each of the group. "Nancy, can we talk?"

"O-oh, sure," she nodded, looking baffled as he began to lead her towards a table in the corner far away from them.

"What do you think that's about?" Ringo asked, trying to mask her curiosity.

"Maybe they're breaking up," Jonathan suggested, throwing casual glances around the parlour so he could secretly watch them from the corner of his eye.

"Oh, you'd love that," she beamed in response.

"Says you!"

Steve Harrington wasn't always nervous. He had mulled his words over since the night before, tossing and turning in bed, feeling as if his next move was one of the most important in his current life.

He didn't take the decision lightly, it was something on his mind for quite some time. Steve may have been spoiled by his rich parents, he may have had his previous ego-centric moments, but he liked to think he wasn't particularly selfish. At least, not now.

And that is why he knew it was wrong to continue his relationship further.

In his heart, he felt guilty. Guilty that his eyes lingered on his girlfriends cousin a little longer than appropriate, guilty that there were days he'd rather spend with her, and especially guilty that even during his own break-up his eyes would flit back to the blonde a few tables away. He would never cheat on Nancy, but his heart cheated himself.

In his mind, he knew feeling guilt was pointless as he assumed Nancy was in a similar situation. The only difference was he was willing to admit to himself that he had a crush on Ringo, while Nancy was still in complete denial about Jonathan - something he imagined Nancy's vision of a perfect high school career had been the cause of.

"I..." he began, looking back and forth between the eyes of the girl he thought he could love, praying he wouldn't break her heart. "Do you think that something's different with us lately?"

Nancy was silent for a moment, causing Steve to fear the worst until she broke out a sigh of relief and nodded, leaning forward on the table.

"Yes. I've been wanting to say this to you but I didn't know how!" She gushed, causing him to exhale a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Don't get me wrong, you're a great girlfriend-"

"And you're a great boyfriend!"

"But I feel like all we do is argue and get jealous and I just don't think that's what a relationship should be about," he explained.

"I agree," Nancy nodded, a sad smile on her lips. "I just... I have a lot of issues I'm trying to work through with everything at Halloween and Barb, and I think that's taking form in my jealousy of you and Ringo." He was about to speak and interrupt her, but she cut him off first. "And before you say anything, it's okay. It's okay, Steve."

Steve could have kissed her just for how understanding she was, but instead, he settled for grabbing her hand that was resting on the table.

"And what about Jonathan?" He pressed knowingly, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" She scoffed, ripping her hand away and closing up. "There's nothing between me and Jonathan. Nothing at all."

"Are you kidding? That guy would mow down anyone who looked at you wrong. He looks at you like I look at people when they suggest we get KFC for dinner."

"So how you look at Ringo then?" She pointed out, a smile playing with the corners of her lips.

"Hey, you don't need to worry," he shook his head. "I wouldn't try to date your cousin."

"Please, I'm begging you!" She chuckled. "Take her off my hands! It's been so long since she was taken out she's starting to find Freddy Krueger attractive."

Steve barked a laugh at this, taking a moment when their conversation died down to reach his hand towards her, which she took confusedly and gave a small shake.

"It's been great dating you, Nancy Wheeler."

"And you, Steve Harrington."

✵

It was the next day before Steve could see Ringo again, and the long hours had been dreadful. He was dying to discuss his break up with her, to hear her reaction and opinion. He knew he wanted to ask her out eventually, but he figured a day after his break up would be in bad taste. And Ringo deserved better than to be seen as a mere rebound.

So as he bound up the stairs to her apartment and rapped on the door quickly, he couldn't help the way his grin dimmed when it was Julia Wheeler who answered, and not Ringo.

"Hi, Mrs Wheeler," he greeted politely. "Is Ringo in?"

"Hi, Nancy's boyfriend," she teased with a tired smile, "Ringo's feeling a little under the weather. I think the stress of today's date was getting to her."

"Why? What's today?" He asked worriedly.

"Her father's birthday," she explained, confusing the teenager. Why would that date have upset her? "Can I ask you something?" She stepped out and closed the door until it was only open a small crack behind her, checking if Ringo was listening before turning back.

"How is she coping with his death now? She was having a hard time in Florida, I thought being back here would help but after seeing the state she got herself in on Saturday, I'm not so sure." Her words settled in Steve's mind, accompanied by a wave of confusion.

Ringo's father was dead?

"S-she... she seems fine, I just thought drinking too much was something she did accidentally, I didn't realise?" He answered after she stared at him expectantly for an answer.

"Ringo drinks too much when she's pushing down her feelings," she sighed, scraping her hand through her hair. "She started doing it regularly after coming back from Hawkins last Christmas, I'm not sure why, but then when he died it increased tenfold. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with her."

"Don't worry, Mrs Wheeler," Steve assured, hiding his shock. "I'll take better care of her."

When they said their goodbyes, Steve left feeling deflated. All essence of excitement was gone and was replaced by worry, and a degrading feeling of stupidity.

He thought they were close and knew each other well, but perhaps Ringo didn't trust anyone at all.